Time
by Stories of Time
Summary: Before Peter Pan, before Rumple, before it all really there was a boy and a girl with dreams and wishes. Read and Review please!
1. The Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Once Upon A Time, just the twist of the plot I created and the girl…plus her father.**

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Once upon a time there was a blacksmith's daughter with beauty beyond comparison and a heart filled with more love than anyone has ever seen.

The daughter wasn't always treated the way she should be…no she was treated as though she was a slave in her own home.

Her father the only family she still had scorned her, yelled at her, and hated her.

Her father wasn't a good man no not at all…he made money in his shop by thieving and swindling.

Her father was a very dishonest man.

But low and behold there was one person who cherished the girl the way such beauty as her should be cherished.

But that young boy was just an apprentice if the girl's father ever found out the boy loved the girl he would be beaten more than he already is.

So the boy and the girl meet secretly after the girl's father has drunk himself into a sleep.

And every night as the boy and the girl meet they talk nonsense about running away from her father and the horrible town Camelot is.

They talk ridiculous things like stowing away to Nottingham or the Enchanted Forest things that could ever come true.

But it gives them both hope that maybe someday all this nightmare will be over and they will be happy for that is all they ever really wanted was to be happy and free together.

But alas that will never happen the boy will go back to being Malcom the blacksmith's apprentice and the girl will go back to being Elizabeth the blacksmith's daughter.

But at night they are someone else in some new place where they can be free and together.

But there was something they didn't know a time would come when they both could be free, though the together part that was something time didn't even would come to pass.


	2. Game of Life

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything of once upon a time, just the twist in the plot and Elizabeth…and her father.**

The night air was thick with humidity and clocked with smoke from the forge.

Elizabeth had been sitting by the back door for over an hour, just waiting for the right moment to sneak out and help Malcom.

As the drunken snores of her father, or as the town like to call him Joseph the blacksmith, filled the air Elizabeth took her chance.

She quickly grabbed the wooden bucket outside the door and ran to the back side of the forge where the well was.

With expert movements Elizabeth quickly grabbed the well's handle and stated to crank up the bucket full of water.

She then proceeded to pour the water from the well's bucket into her own.

Elizabeth then quickly, slow enough not to spill the water in the bucket, walked into the back door of the forge and made her way into the side room.

In the side room rested Malcom; he looked awful his chest was covered in burns and cuts with blood oozing out of them.

His breath came in shallow intakes as if he had a difficult time breathing with his lungs. "Malcom" Elizabeth whispered, this was not the first time he had been beaten by her father but it was one of the few times he had difficulty breathing afterwards.

Her voice brought Malcom out of the light sleep he was in, "Hey how much time do we have before he wakes up?"

Elizabeth crouched down next to him, "not long he only drank a bottle and a half. We are going to have to hurry."

With that said she got up and went into the inner parts of the forge to grab one of the cleaner rags.

Elizabeth having been to the forge so many times during the night already knew where everything was.

By the time Elizabeth returned Malcom was sitting in more of an upright position.

Elizabeth couched back down in her position by his straw bed and proceeded to put the rag into her water bucket.

"Just the front this time, he didn't do that much damage to my back this time," Malcom murmured.

"What happened this time?" Elizabeth whispered back as she started to clean the cuts on his chest.

Malcom winced as she went over a bruised rib, "oh just the usual I say or do something he decides he doesn't like and then beats me until he think I had enough. Oh but this time he used a tong that he put into the burner so that's why I got all these longs burn marks."

It was Elizabeth's turn to wince now, "you could've fought back this time. Don't give me that look I know I say that every single time this happens but I'm still going to say it. You could've fought back."

Malcom just shook his head, "no I can't because if I try to fight back he will then unload his anger onto someone else. And that someone else just happens to be you Miss."

Elizabeth looked up at him and smirked, "no it wouldn't because unlike you I follow the rules."

"Oh really and what rules are they Miss Elizabeth?" Malcom asked with a half-smile.

Elizabeth set down the rag, "the rules are to the game of life. You play your part don't say anything and you'll get out just fine. That is how I'm going to get us out, I'll keep playing the game until one day when he is less watchful over me we will take our big brake and run for it."

Now Malcom had a full smile on his face, "oh really that's all, just a simple game. Well Miss Elizabeth you keep playing your game and I'll keep drawing his attention away from you."

Elizabeth glared at him, but she knew better than to argue with him once Malcom had his mind set to something nobody was ever going to change it.

She picked up the rag again and went back to cleaning up the burns and cuts.

Someday she thought he is going to go too far and daddy is really going to hurt him...again.

Elizabeth just hoped that someday will come later rather than sooner or they were going to have a big problem.

Her father though could be very unpredictable when he wanted to be, and if he ever found out that she actually had feeling for Malcom there would be no Malcom anymore and she knew that.

But she still wouldn't give up meeting and helping him, Malcom was the only good thing that happened in her life in a long time.

Ever since her mother left Elizabeth and her father Joseph was cruel and mean.

Before Malcom ever came he used to hit Elizabeth, but then one day the royal court had a visitor come they happened to be selling slaves and her father bought Malcom.

Now whenever Malcom or she made a mistake or happened to mess up Joseph would take it out on Malcom.

It just wasn't right at all to abuse Malcom or make him stay out in the forge all the time, sometimes he didn't even get anything to eat.

But of course Malcom didn't care, as long as she was fine he would take whatever came his way.

Malcom didn't even like it when she worried about him, and that was just silly.

But she had to worry about him or nobody else would.

Malcom's gasp of pain brought Elizabeth out of her thoughts.

"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay that just really hurt, what were you thinking about?"

Elizabeth paused her cleaning, "how do you know I was thinking about something?"

"You get this look in your face only when you are thinking of something important but it doesn't happen often," Malcom said with a smirk.

Elizabeth playfully slapped a part of his skin that wasn't mauled, "I'll have you know that I am always thinking important things."

Malcom just rolled his eyes at her.

"Hey it's true, but anyways I was just planning about what I'm going to do tomorrow. You know I do have a game I have to play and games are all about strategy," Elizabeth lied.

Malcom rolled his eyes again at her but never lost the smirk on his face, "sure keep up then game. But you don't want to cheat the game now that will just make you have a bad form."

Elizabeth began to giggle, "how can you cheat at the game of life?"

Malcom grabbed the rag out of her hands and awkwardly threw it into the bucket to avoid hurting himself more.

He then grabbed both of her hands, "no Elizabeth darling if you think life is a game then you can cheat because you can cheat with any game out there in the world."

Now Elizabeth was laughing out loud.

Malcom started to laugh with her but his ribs hurt too much that it just made the whole ordeal painful.

But he was content with just watching her laugh; it really was a wonderful site.

Their joyful time was cut short by a large bang.

Elizabeth could feel all the blood drain from her face with sudden realization what that noise was.

Her father had finally woken up.

Elizabeth started to grab the bucket but Malcom beat her.

"Elizabeth go now, if he catches you in here again we are both dead. Now go sneak out the front while he comes through the rear," Malcom whispered to her.

Elizabeth nodded to him knowing that her father always goes through the rear.

She quickly made her way to the front, she could hear the pounding of her heart in her chest.

Oh god she thought the last time he caught her in here Malcom nearly died and she was locked in her room for days.

She walked around the tool table and went to the door lifting the latch slowly not to make any sudden movements.

She opened it just wide enough for her to slip out.

Elizabeth then ran as fast as she could in her long dress to the back door of the house.

She heard the forge door slam open and shut, every now and then she could hear shouts and curses.

She paid them no attention though, Elizabeth kept reassuring herself that Malcom would be fine as long as she got to her room and into her bed.

She knew Malcom would lie saying she was probably asleep and so that is just what she'll have to do.

Elizabeth slipped into the house and up the stair case and into her room.

She laid down on her straw bed and wrapped a blanket around herself.

Breathe in breathe out, was all she could think, about breathe in breathe out.

It was not long before the door to the house slammed open, Elizabeth quickly shut her eyes and waited.

Joseph was stumbling up the stairs and into her room.

It took every ounce of bravery Elizabeth had when her father stumbled over to her not to flinch.

"Damn bastard was telling the truth, the bitch is sleeping," Joseph murmured.

With that said he stumbled back out of her room and down the stairs.

Elizabeth nearly wept with relief, he must just been drunk enough to believe that little charade they just did.

That was to close she thought way to close.

Why did she have to play such a dangerous game?

But she already knew the answer to her own question, it was so Malcom and she could get a better life.

Yes, as long as there was hope they could still get out she would continue to play this game of life and fool her father.

A better life and with that thought Elizabeth went to sleep knowing she would have to start this all again tomorrow.

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**I know Malcom/Peter seems a little OOC, but remember this is before Peter Pan and everything. So review please the more you review the more updates you'll get.**


	3. Memories

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Once Upon a Time just Elizabeth and all the other people you don't recognize.**

**Song of the chapter: Sirens by Cher Lloyd.**

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Days in the forge usually passed with hot fire or the pounding sound of metal on metal. And the usual beatings here and there that Malcom received. But what made the time in the forge seem so long wasn't the beatings or the fire that gave him blisters.

No it was the silence.

The silence that would seep into his brain and make thoughts and memories appear that he shut out for so long. It was so hard for him to close that door down memory lane once it was open.

And when the door was open Malcom would be swarmed with memories from his past, some would be good others not so much.

This is what happened to Malcom as he was sharpening a sword. Joseph was out getting more supplies and ale for himself. Elizabeth was in the house cleaning up Joseph's mess from last night.

So Malcom was in the forge by himself and the silence was killing almost as much as the memories were.

His mind was occupied by the day he last saw his parents all those years ago.

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_*10 years ago*_

_The night air was cool and bitter making little Malcom wrap a blanket tightly around himself in his sleep. At the age of seven he was already sleeping in his own room because he was a 'big' boy. _

_The sound of someone knocking on a door brought little Malcom out of his peaceful sleep. _

_Who could it be he wondered was it the King or maybe it was a bandit. _

_With these thought Malcom jumped out of his straw bed and ran to his parents' room in excitement. But as Malcom neared the open door he saw his parents' bed empty. _

_Bad thoughts came rushing into the little boy's head. _

_What if it was a bandit?_

_ What if the bandit took his parents?_

_ Malcom was still too young to realize bandits don't knock on a door when they wanted to get into the house. He still thought his house was invincible and nothing could get in._

_ A scared little Malcom ran to the door that leads to the outside world. With all his might he pushed opened the big latch on the door and squeezed his was out. _

_There outside talking to some strange man were Malcom's parents, along with a carriage and some horses. They were talking in hushed voices to the strange man but Malcom heard a couple phrases. "No…else….him…begging you….take…please," was what his mother whispered to the man._

_ The strange man just shook his head and gave the parents a piece of paper. Malcom's father read over the paper and then looked up at the man and nodded his head. _

_With that Malcom's mother started to cry and shake her head. Malcom didn't like to see his mother cry so he started to walk over to them._

_ When the mother saw Malcom near him she ran towards him and picked him up. "I'm so sorry my love," she whispered to him kissing every part of his face with tears running down her face. She held Malcom close and whispered I'm sorry over and over again._

_ Malcom's father walked over to them. He put an arm around the mother and whispered sadly "it's time Ruth." Ruth looks over to her husband, "Please Daniel don't let them take him please." _

_With a sigh Daniel took little Malcom out of her arms and began walking over to the strange man. _

_Ruth screamed and cried for Daniel not to do this, she ran behind Daniel hitting him on the back sobbing. Daniel paid no attention to her, but kept on walking to the man. _

_Malcom looked at his parents with confusion. He didn't understand why they were acting like this._

_ The man walked over to his carriage when Daniel neared him. The man opened up the back and motioned for Daniel to put his son into the back. The father did as he was told setting Malcom in the back. _

_With that the man closed little Malcom in the back of the carriage. _

_Malcom stood up and looked through the metal poles in the back. He started to cry out in fear and confusion. What was going on? Was the only thought going through the little boy's head._

_ Malcom's mother grabbed his hand, "I'm so sorry my love. Oh my baby boy I love you always remember that." Daniel grabbed his wife pulling her away from their only child. _

_"Are you sure there is no other way?" Malcom's father said to the strange man as he neared the front of the carriage. _

_The man turned around, "no the King said the boy or the house. You are behind on his many payments and either one would pay for the loss you are causing him. So he told me that I could have the boy for the market or he could have the house." With that said the man got onto the carriage and drove off. _

_Malcom watched his parents become smaller and smaller._

_ His father looked down at the ground and shed a single tear, but his mother sat down and cried her heart out._

_ He started to scream then "please Mama don't let them take me! Papa! Papa! Help me! Mama don't leave me! MAMA! MAMA! PAPA!" Malcom kept screaming and screaming for his parents long after they were gone from his site. _

_He finally stopped screaming when his voice became so rough that he couldn't speak anymore. But he kept crying. _

_Malcom was hurt, why did his parent's let this man take him? _

_He wanted to go home and watch his mama make him eggs. Malcom wanted his mama to tuck him into bed and tell him stories. Malcom wanted his papa to pick him up his arms and make everything better when Malcom got hurt. He wanted to watch his papa spin the wheel that made yarn._

_ But most of all little Malcom wanted his Mommy and Papa back._

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The stinging of his hand brought Malcom back from his thoughts.

His hand was bleeding from the sword the he was sharpening.

Malcom stopped his work and went to go grab a rag. He wrapped the rag around his injured hand and walked into his room. Sitting down on his bed Malcom let his head rest against the wall.

The stinging in his hand didn't even come close to the pain he felt in his heart.

He hadn't thought about the night his parents gave him up in so long that it felt almost foreign to him. But it still hurt just as much as it did all those nights ago.

Now that he was older Malcom understood why they gave him up, but it would never make the pain go away.

He wiped his eyes with his hands. Malcom felt something wet on his hands, he pulled back in shock. Slowly he looked down at his hands and saw the wetness on them.

Was he crying?

He hadn't cried in so long that he didn't even know he could anymore. He remembers the last day he cried, the last day he gave up hope.

The day he realized never to trust adults they would only hurt you.

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_*9 years ago*_

_It has been one year since his parents gave Malcom up. _

_One year of living in a moving cage with other kids going from town to town. And each stop they had to get out in shackles and let people walk around them. Looking at which would make a good cook or a good farmer. _

_Then bidding on each of them until somebody won. When that happened a boy or girl would be taken and none of them would ever seem that person again. _

_Malcom never got sold that whole year, which would make Thomas and John, Thomas was the strange man from that fateful night a year ago, mad. But anybody that wasn't sold would get whipped on the back, it hurt Malcom a lot._

_ He screamed which would only make them do it harder, they said he was too weak and needed to toughen out. _

_Malcom learned very fast not to make them mad or make any friends. When he would make friends and they got sold it only made this place so much worse because they were taken from him._

_ Malcom also learned to not speak just sit and wait._

_ As hard as it was there was a little part of Malcom that would hope and pray that his parents would come back for him, but so far it hasn't happened._

_ One day they were stopped at the Enchanted Forest, it was the day Malcom waited a whole year for the day they were back in his home._

_ Maybe his parents were there and they were going to buy him back Malcom wondered. _

_It was all too much for him, little Malcom was almost bursting with hope._

_ The cage door opened and all the kids walked in a single file line towards the entrance. Every single one of them hopped down from the cage and waited to be shackled up. _

_Malcom was so excited he didn't even mind the coolness of the shackles. _

_They were all lined up so everyone could see them. Malcom paid no attention to Thomas who was calling names. _

_Malcom was on a mission he was going to find his parents._

_ The hours they stood there dragged on and on making all the children's legs hurt. But Malcom hurt the most he was losing hope every second, his parents were nowhere to be seen. _

_The pain in his chest that was there every day since he was taken grew until it physically hurt. What if his parents didn't come? That thought alone made Malcom's eyes burn with tears._

_ He almost gave up until he caught sight of something very familiar. _

_It was his father's cloak._

_ The happiness that Malcom was feeling made Malcom's eyes sting but for a very different reason. Malcom wanted to shout but he knew what happened to those who shouted while they were in the line. And well he could tell it wasn't exactly pleasant from the screaming he heard._

_ The shackles around his wrist and ankles started to be pulled. The bidding was over and Malcom's father still hadn't seen him._

_ In a split second Malcom made a decision regardless of what punishment he would receive. "PAPA!" Malcom screamed with all his might._

_ All the children in the line and everyone in the crowd turned to look at him with shock._

_ But Malcom wasn't looking at them he was watching his father._

_ Daniel hearing the scream turned to look at the slave line. He spotted someone who looked oddly familiar. _

_It was his son._

_ Daniel didn't know what to do should he go up there, should he try to buy him, or should he yell back at him. Daniel didn't know what to do. __But in that moment he did something he would regret for the rest of his life. _

_He turned around and walked away._

_ He could hear Malcom scream for him like he did a year ago and it was just as painful. But nothing has changed they were still poor and Ruth was pregnant with another baby._

_ They were both trying to replace the child they had lost._

_ But if he had bought Malcom it would only make it worse, they would become behind in payments again and they would lose Malcom all over again. _

_Ruth couldn't go through that again it nearly broke her and she hated him most of the time because of what he did on that day, but doing it a second time didn't make it any easier on him then it did the first._

_ Daniel didn't stop walking, he walked until he couldn't hear Malcom's screams for him. __When he was out of site form everyone he finally let the tears pour down his face. _

_"I'm sorry Malcom, please forgive me someday," he whispered hoping it would make it better but it never would. _

_Malcom watched his father turned towards him at his scream, he watched as the realization passed over his face._

_ His papa would make it all better, he just had to wait for his papa to come and get him. _

_Malcom waited and his papa did the one thing he never expected of him._

_ He walked away. _

_Malcom couldn't help but scream for him like he did a year ago. He screamed and pleaded for his father to turn around and come back for him. _

_But he never did. _

_Malcom felt Thomas grab his tunic and pull away from the crowd. Thomas yelled at him to shut up, but Malcom couldn't, it hurt too much for him to be quiet. _

_That night Malcom received the worse beating he has ever gotten. During the whole beating he cried not because of the pain he felt in his back but because of the pain in his heart._

_ After the beating Malcom was shoved back into the cage._

_ Malcom promised to himself he wouldn't ever cry because of an adult. He swore he would never ever let somebody hurt him like his Papa hurt him today. _

_No he refused to let an adult hurt him like that, because all adults care about are themselves._

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"Malcom. Oh Malcom are you in there."

Malcom shook his head trying to get out of memory lane.

He saw Elizabeth sitting in front of him with a smile on her beautiful face. She was breath taking, he didn't care that her brown hair had cobwebs in it or that she had sweat dripping down her beautiful heart shaped face. Malcom didn't care that her dress was ripped in spots, nor did he care that she had a little mud on her face right by one of her honey brown eyes.

No Malcom didn't care if she was covered in mud she would always be the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. ANd she made everything better just by smiling.

Malcom smiles down at her, "Hello love"

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**I'm sorry I had to do that to you, but know you know why he hates adults.**

** But anyways so I found out that Malcom is really spelt Malcolm but I'm going to just leave it unless a lot of people tell me different. **

**And yes I am now doing song for every chapter so you guys know what I'm listening to while I write.**

** As always more reviews faster updates!**


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